Take a WARC on the wild side

On Tuesday the latest AA/WARC Expenditure Report for Q1 2018 was released and contained some very promising results for our industry. UK adspend rose by 5.9% year-on-year, reaching £5.7bn and marking the 19th consecutive quarter of market growth. The figure is 1.3 percentage points (pp) ahead of forecast.

Key findings indicate Q1 2018 was the strongest first quarter in three years. Print display ad revenue for national newsbrands rose for the first time in seven years. Radio recorded its strongest growth in four years; while internet, out of home and TV were all positive during the quarter.

Adspend growth forecasts for this year and next have been upgraded, by 0.6pp to 4.8% and 0.7pp to 4.5% respectively. If proved correct, this would conclude a decade of continuous growth, and result in investment of over £24bn in 2019.

Our Chief Executive Stephen Woodford commented:

“Our latest advertising expenditure figures reflect the resilience of the wider UK economy… If Government can secure a good outcome from the Brexit negotiations and introduce a business-friendly immigration policy, we should continue to see sustained UK market growth and continued export success for advertising.”

More reports to ad to the pile…

As Parliament goes into recess, a flurry of Select Committee reports have been published. The DCMS Committee issued aninterim reportthis week regarding disinformation and ‘fake news’.

A few of its key recommendations called on websites to identify and prevent illegal election campaigning from overseas; for an educational levy on social media companies to fund digital literacy education in schools; and for sponsors to be clearly defined in digital campaigns.

The Commons Home Affairs Committee issued an interim report on future migration from the European Economic Area. Key recommendations were: For a public consultation to take place before the Migration Advisory Committee releases its report later this year and to scrap and replace current net immigration targets.

Additionally, Lord Gilbert of Panteg, Chair of the Lords Comms Committee, wrote to Health Secretary Matt Hancock on the proposed consultation on introducing a 9pm watershed for HFSS advertising. He said the committee feels the measure is disproportionate and that more evidence is needed of its effect on the quality of content. You can read the letter here and the Government’s plan of action regarding childhood obesity here.

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